Does blogging and social media integration really work…  even in Arkansas?

Yes.

ComScore recently reported that blogs were read by nearly 80 million Amercians in 2008 which totals nearly  half of all U.S. internet users.  The use of blogs helps establish ongoing dialogue with your target audience by referencing current news, events and opportunities.

Here are 7 ways to make a blog work for you:

1) Focus on your readers needs and search engines. Search engine optimized blog posts will help generate free visitors from search engines as opposed to pay-per-click visitors that cost you with click-through ads.

2) Blog like a professional. Blogs work best when they are formatted correctly, written frequently and consistently.

3) Blog from your own site. Stay away from free blogs.  Free blogs are usually not trusted by consumers because of the large amount of spam.  Besides, the reason to blog is to drive visitors to your website.

4) Be specific with your information. Use local city names, states and regions when talking about your products or services.

5) Work with an experienced business blog developer. You wear enough hats in your business already.

6) Hire a professional writer. There’s nothing much worse than trying to read a newspaper or magazine article, or a blog, that is poorly written.  Focus on running your business.  Leave the writing to the pros.

7) Blogs are not advertising. Keep your blog conversational.  If you constantly push sales or pricing, you will lose readers.  So keep it interesting and informative.